*Personally I think the acid jazz scene has been standing still for the
*last 18 months. They're just repeating the same formula over and over
Ha! Chris doesn't know what he is talking about :) He obviously hasn't heard
Mo' Wax. It blows much of the UFO stuff (which is good IMHO) away.
*Japanese band. They just released their second album on Talkin' Loud
And the first compilation "Jazzin '91-'92" is excellent too.
*techno as you can get. ;-) One of the best albums of the year, IMHO.
And "These Foolish things" is one of the best songs of the year.
To reply to the original poster's question: what to look for if you're into
Acid Jazz? Well, I don't know about US labels, but Dorado, Mo' Wax, Acid
Jazz, Luv 'n Haight & Talking Loud (all in the UK) have all put out stuff that
could either be called acid jazz, jazz funk, rare groove, brit funk, street
jazz, rap jazz, jazz not jazz, jazzy house, etc.. The more conventional stuff
resides on Acid Jazz, while Talking Loud takes care of the more rap type of
ventures. Mo' Wax is on extreme jazz tip (it's more jazz than dance, I guess,
but very good and even instantly likeable). Dorado is quite diverse ranging
from rap jazz to soul and funk oriented projects. Some highlights from each
label:
Young Disciples: Road to Freedom (Talking Loud)
Label's best, even though a bit old. The singer C. Anderson has
also come out with a new EP "Dark Sappho" (?) also on Talking Loud
Debut album due out soon. You might also want to check out the
Rebirth of Cool compilations (three of them).
Various: Totally Wired 6, 7 & 8, The Best of Acid Jazz 2 (Acid Jazz)
All comps and all very good. Stuff ranges from danceable acts
(Brand New Heavies) to more mellow jazz type ventures (Snowboy).
There are atleast 10 Totally Wired comps, 2 Best of comps and
one Totally Wired Italia comp. None of them is downright bad.
Various: Mo' Wax compilation (Mo Wax)
I'm not quite sure of the name of this, because I've only seen the
name once. But the tracks are from DJ Takemura and are kicking
hip hop beat driven jazz (no rapping).
Various: The Dorado Compilation 1 & 2 (Dorado)
Good intros to the label, if you can't find (don't want to buy)
the 12" releases. Diverse and good although not thoroughly excellent.
Various: Jazz Dance Classics (Luv 'n Height)
Oldies but goldies. UK based jazz hits mainly from London.
In addition to the above labels, I'd recommend "Funk Master Cuts" &
"Jazz master cuts" compilations (even though not strictly acid jazz) and
the quite new Shara Nelson (former Massive attack vocalist) debut album
"What silence knows" that swept me away. But that's quite far from
intelligent dance music (?), so I'll call it a day :)
cheers,
samu
--
"If you think education is expensive, try ignorance."